Hirakud Dam

Dam in Odisha, India

Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River, about from Sambalpur in the state of Odisha in India. It is the longest earthen dam in the world. Behind the dam extends a lake, Hirakud Reservoir, long. It is one of the first major multipurpose river valley projects started after India's independence. Hirakud Reservoir was declared a Ramsar site on 12 October 2021.

On 15 March 1946, Sir Hawthorne Lewis, the Governor of Odisha, laid the foundation stone of the Hirakud Dam. A project report was submitted to the government in June 1947. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laid the first batch of concrete on 12 April 1948. In 1952, Mazumdar Committee was appointed by the government to oversee the soundness and technical feasibility of the project. The committee has envisaged costs of 92.80 crore for the project and that the construction of the main dam would be complete by June 1955. It also said that by 1954–55 a total of
would be irrigated and that 48,000 kW of electric power would be generated. However, the dam was completed in 1953 and was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 January 1957. The total cost of the project was in 1957. Power generation along with agricultural irrigation started in 1956, achieving full potential in 1966.

In the upper drainage basin of the Mahanadi River, centered on the Chhattisgarh Plain, periodic droughts contrast with the situation in the lower delta region where floods may damage crops. The dam was constructed to help alleviate these problems by creating a reservoir and controlling river flow through the drainage system. The dam regulates the flow of the Mahanadi River and produces hydroelectricity through several hydroelectric plants. The dam helps control floods in the Mahanadi delta and irrigates of land. Hydroelectricity is also generated. The Hirakud Dam regulates of Mahanadi's drainage. The reservoir has a storage capacity of with gross of .

Statistics published by the dam authority show the water holding capacity of the dam has been reduced by 24% due to siltation.

A major conflict for water was reported when over 30,000 farmers gathered around the dam making a human chain, protesting against the allocation of water to the industries and there being no water for the canal system due to a low water level.

There have been plans for inter basin water transfer, as per plans of the water resource dept of Odisha as part of India's ambitious Indian Rivers Inter link.

These are remnants of temples submerged after the dam was completed in 1957. In the summer season, the receding water of the dam makes the structures become visible. The hidden treasures have finally caught the attention of historians, and steps are being taken to understand the historical significance of these temples, which periodically go under water, only to resurface again. Many temples have been destroyed after 58 years of underwater existence. However, some remain intact. Interest in these lost temples has been rekindled after two stones, etched with writing ('Shila Lekha'), were recovered from what is believed to be the Padmaseni temple of submerged Padmapur village. The temples located inside the reservoir area were part of the then Padmapur, one of the oldest and most populous in the region prior to the dam construction.

The dam with the channel provides an ideal environment for the wildlife. The Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary is located here. Several species of migratory birds visit the reservoir during winter. Nearly 20 25 species of birds are seen in the reservoir and common among them are common pochard, red crested pochard, great crested grebe and several others.

The main purpose of the Hirakud Dam was to check the massive floods that were affecting a large part of coastal Odisha. But, the construction of the dam greatly affected the natives of the western part of Odisha. Nearly 150,000 people were affected by the Hirakud project and nearly 22,000 families were displaced. In the original estimate, an amount of was provided for payment of compensation to the affected people. After revision, the amount was reduced to and the total compensation paid to the people was, in reality, only A large number of families were evacuated from their hearth and homes without compensation from 1956 onwards.

A commemorative stamp on Hirakud Dam was released on 29 Oct 1979 by the Department of Posts, with denomination , 3,000,000 stamps issued. A hundred rupee note was issued on 26 December 1960 by RBI Governor H. V. R. Iyengar. The size of this note is On the back side of this note there are thirteen regional languages along with an image of the Hirakud Dam and Hydro Electric station.